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Chinese-made hotel toothpaste recalled

Canadian consumers are being asked to check their medicine chests after a voluntary recall was issued for a Chinese-made toothpaste distributed in some Canadian hotels.

By Pat HewittCanadian Press

Mon., Aug. 13, 2007

Canadian consumers are being asked to check their medicine chests after a voluntary recall was issued for a Chinese-made toothpaste distributed in some Canadian hotels.

The toothpaste could contain a harmful chemical found in antifreeze.

Indianapolis-based Gilchrist & Soames, which supplies toiletries to about 400 hotels in North America and the Caribbean along with other hotels worldwide, is recalling the small, complimentary tubes of toothpaste made by China-based Ming Fai Enterprises International Co. Ltd.

The tainted product comes in 18-millilitre tubes with the brand name "Gilchrist & Soames" on it. There is no expiry date but the tubes are stamped "Made in China."

Health Canada said Monday a dozen hotels in Canada are among 424 worldwide that carried the toothpaste.

There has been no reports of poisoning from the toothpaste in the United States and Canada.

Hotels in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates are being asked by the company to destroy any remaining inventory of the toothpaste.

Company president Kathie De Voe said in an interview from Indianapolis Monday that after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent out an alert June 1 about some Chinese-made toothpaste containing diethylene glycol, or DEG. The chemical could be toxic to the kidneys and liver.

De Voe said her company started investigating whether its products were affected. It sent out letters to its customers June 7 about the FDA alert, and told them Gilchrist & Soames would stop shipping its inventory and recommended hotels no longer distribute made-in-China toothpaste in its hotel rooms, she said.

De Voe said initial testing for DEG was negative, but subsequent testing revealed the toxic chemical in some tubes of Gilchrist & Soames toothpaste.

"As soon as we saw one test that came back from our independent test lab here in the U.S. that tested for traces of DEG, we as a company decided to initiate a voluntary recall."

De Voe would not say which hotels in Canada carry Gilchrist & Soames products, nor would she say how many tubes of the toothpaste were shipped to Canada.

"Some product did make it into Canada, but because we have very good records of what is shipped where, we already contacted hotels on June 7th when we heard the alert to warn them," said De Voe.

She said the company contacted its customers last week before the recall was made public Monday.

One of its customers is The Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto.

Sutton Place spokesman Christopher Ashby said, however, the hotel only found out about the product recall on Monday.

"We carry Gilchrist & Soames products as our guest room amenity package and on rare occasion, the dental package is part of it," said Ashby.

"Gilchrist & Soames voluntarily replaced the product that was in question with a new Crest product," Ashby said.

"And that Crest product is the only product that's in our current dental package that is in our Gilchrist & Soames product that goes up to guest rooms. And the dental product is only given on request, it's not part of our standard package."

The FDA has no reports of any poisonings from the toothpaste in the United States, according to a company statement.

In Ottawa, Health Canada spokeswoman Carole Saindon said in an email that the agency has been in contact with Gilchrist & Soames to ensure that the recall is effectively undertaken in Canada.

"Health Canada has not received any reports of adverse reactions as a result of the affected product," wrote Saindon.

But she noted "the number of affected product actually distributed and the number of affected guests is unknown."

Saindon said Health Canada will continue to monitor the recall's effectiveness.

On its website, Gilchrist & Soames bills itself as "the only branded toiletries company dedicated to the luxury hotel market" and is "a leading provider of luxurious hair, bath, and body products for world-class hotels, exclusive resorts, and distinguished spas, inns, and bed & breakfasts."

This is the latest in a series of recalls of Chinese-made products that have been deemed dangerous for consumers. Other Chinese goods recently pulled from the market over safety concerns include children's toys, tires and pet food.

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